Regina Spektor is a Russian singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist and pianist known for her diverse discography, which has garnered her critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations. Her family moved from the Soviet Union and settled in the United States as emigrants when Regina was about 9.5 years old. Regina Spektor has loved learning music since she was a child and was disappointed when she couldn’t take her piano to her new home in the United States. Despite the difficult times, she kept practicing and her parents supported her throughout her journey. Regina Spektor has released various albums and EPs including Songs , What We Saw From The Cheap Seats , Wide ,Remember Us To Live , Soviet Kitsch , Live By Bull Moose , And Laugh With . Her first live album, Living in London was recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo Far Tour on 4th December 2009 and then released worldwide Regina Spektor has also garnered a huge following on social media with her musical finesse, enjoying over 180,000 followers on Twitter, over 1.8 million followers on Facebook, over 180,000 followers on Instagram and over 350,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel.

Born name

Regina Iljinitschna Spektor

nickname

Regina

Sun sign

Aquarius

Place of birth

Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union

Residence

New York City, New York, United States

nationality

training

Regina Spektor graduated from Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy which is a Jewish middle school in the Riverdale section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Until she was 17, she also took classical piano lessons from Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. It was Regina Spektor’s father who met Vargas through her husband, a violinist named Samuel Marder.

Regina Spektor also studied at Die Frisch School which is a coeducational yeshiva high school in Paramus, New Jersey, USA. She later went to Fair Lawn High School , a 4-year comprehensive public high school in Fair Lawn, Bergen County, New Jersey. During her teenage years, she also visited Israel with the Nesiya Institute . That’s when she realized her songwriting skills after her songs caught the attention of other kids.

In 2001, Regina Spektor graduated from the State University of New York on purchase upon completion of the Conservatory of Music’s 4-year studio composition program . She also studied for one semester in Tottenham, North London, England, UK.

occupation

Singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, pianist

family

• Father – Ilya Spektor (photographer and amateur violinist)
• Mother – Bella Spektor (music professor at a Soviet music college, teacher at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York)
• Siblings – Boruch (aka Bear) (brother)

Manager

Regina Spektor is represented by Artist Group International, Music Artist Management Company, New York, USA.

Genre

Anti-Folk, Indie-Pop

instruments

vocals, piano, guitar

labels

Vater Records, Warner Bros. Records Inc.

To build

Average

Height

5 ft 3½ in oder 161 cm

weight

62 kg or 136.5 lbs

friend/spouse

Regina Spektor dated –

1. Julian Casablancas – It has been speculated that Regina Spektor had a past relationship with American singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas. Julian has also served as the lead singer for the New York rock band, The Strokes . Regina Spektor also performed the duet, Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men with the band.
2. Jack Dishel – Regina Spektor married musician, actor, writer, director, comedian and producer Jack Dishel on December 18, 2011. They had been together for quite a while before getting married and they were together for about 6 years. The couple had also been engaged for a period of around 16 months before finally being arrested. He was the lead guitarist for the indie group, The Moldy Peaches . Regina and Jack Dishel have also worked together on a few projects that include the song, Call Them Brothers . On January 23, 2014, Regina Spektor announced via Facebook that she was pregnant with Dishel’s child. Shortly after, in March 2014, the duo welcomed their first child, a son.

race/ethnicity

White

Regina Spektor is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

Blau

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Curly locks
• Usually wears red lipstick
• Unmistakable voice
• Big smile
• Whimsical but intimate lyrics

brand promotion

Regina Spektor’s songs have been featured in commercials for a variety of brands including the UK’s British Sky Broadcasting , KPN (a Dutch telecoms company), JC Penney , Yahoo! Xtra , and Vodafone .

Religion

Regina Spektor grew up in a Russian-Jewish household.

Known for

• Self-released their first 3 records and gained deserved popularity in New York’s independent music scenes. She was particularly famous in the anti-folk scene in New York’s East Village.
• The immense popularity of their 4th album titled Begin to Hope which peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers list (2006) at number 20 on the US Billboard 200 list (2017) and at number #10 on the New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart (2017). The album was named the 21st best album of 2006 by Rolling Stone and was honored by. dubbed the “pacemaker” by Billboard. It has also been certified “Gold” by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) and the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The most popular single from the album was Loyalty .
• Their fifth studio album, released in June 2009 through Sire Records, was titled Wide . It consisted of 13 songs and received positive reviews, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200 list, #5 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums list, #3 on the Billboard Top Internet Albums list, # 10 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and at number 16 on the Canadian Albums Chart . It has also been certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
• The consecutive popularity of their 6th studio album titled What We’ve Seen From the Cheap Seats and was released in May 2012 by Sire Records. The album received positive reviews and sold 174,000 copies in the US as of September 2016. In addition, it also reached #1 on the US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) list, #2 on the US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) list, #5 on the US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) list, number 9 on the Australian Albums (ARIA) list, and at number #12 on the Canadian Albums (Billboard) list. It’s single, all rowboatswas charted at number 91 in Australia and number 38 on the US Rock Digital Songs chart.

First album

In July 2001, Regina Spektor released her debut album 11:11 , which consisted of a total of 12 songs, such as Liebesaffäre , Rejazz , Back of a Truck , Marry Ann , Wasteside , Pavlov’s Daughter , I Want to Sing , and Sunshine .

She released her first live album, Live In London on November 22, 2010 through Sire Records. The album won the 2011 New York Music Award for Best Live Recording.

first movie

Regina Spektor made her feature film debut as the girl who lost the ring in the comedy film, Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control. The film premiered on June 9, 2002 at the Seattle International Film Festival and starred, among others, Bronson Pinchot, Ruben Santiago- Hudson and Amy Carlson.

She made her motion picture debut as a concerned townsperson in the adventure comedy-drama film, Adam Green’s Aladdin . The film’s cast included Jon Wiley, Michael Cummings, Yasmin Green, Toby Goodshank and Nicole LaLiberte.

First TV show

Regina Spektor made her first appearance as herself on an episode of the late night comedy music talk show. Late Night with Conan O’Brien in March 2005.

Regina Spektor favorite things

• Romantic Movies – Manhattan (1979), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Amarcord (1973), Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears (1979) and When Harry Met Sally (1989)
• One of her favorite books – Nine Stories by JD Salinger

Regina Spektor Actually

1. Regina Spektor grew up in Moscow, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
2. Her brother Boruch has worked as a featured artist in track 7, “* * *” or “Whisper”, of their 2004 album Soviet Kitsch .
3. Her grandfather had given her mother a Petrof post, which Regina later used to learn to play the piano. At the age of 6 she also began training in classical music.
4. Growing up, she listened to the melodious classical creations and enjoyed the work of famous Russian bards like Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava.
5. It was her father who introduced Regina to rock and roll bands such as the Beatles , Queen , and the Moody Blues .
6. During the period of perestroika, ReginaSpektor’s family left the Soviet Union in 1989. She was only 9.5 years old at the time. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take her piano with her and had to leave it behind.
7. She was so concerned about her piano studies that it even made her parents reconsider her decision to leave the Soviet Union. However, they eventually decided to emigrate due to discrimination against Jews based on their race, ethnicity, and political discrimination.
8. The family first moved to Austria, followed by their stay in Italy before finally being admitted to the United States as refugees with the help of the HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society).
9. Unable to bring her piano with her when she moved out of the Soviet Union, Regina practiced on tabletops and other hard surfaces until she found a piano to play on in the basement of her synagogue.
10. Her initial musical interests were mainly focused on classical music, but she later developed a liking for hip hop, rock and punk as well.
11. Regina Spektor only realized she wanted to pursue a career in songwriting while visiting Israel with the Nesiya Institute in her teenage years. During the trip, she made songs while hiking, which soon caught the attention of her buddies.
12. She was about 16 when she wrote her very first a cappella songs, and when she was 18 she created her first songs for voice and piano.
13. Around the time she was studying at Purchase College, Regina Skeptor also briefly worked on a butterfly farm in Luck, Polk County, Wisconsin.
14. Regina Spektor released her 7th studio album, Remember Us To Life , in September 2016 through Warner Bros. and Sire Records, which consisted of a total of 11 songs including the songs Bleeding Heart , Older and Bigger , The Trapper and the Skinner , Salesman of Flowers , Tornadoland , and The Visit . The album peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard 200 chart and at number #20 on the Australian Albumen (ARIA) chart. It has also been certified triple “Platinum” by Russia (NFPF).
15. She has stated that she is very connected to her Russian roots and paid tribute to her heritage in her song Après Moi quoting the poem February by Russian poet Boris Pasternak.
16. Regina Spektor released a cover of John Lennon’s song Wahre Liebe in 2007 for the compilation album, Instant Karma: Amnesty’s International Campaign to Save Darfur , in support of Amnesty International’s campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur.
17. In 2008 she took part in Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace . The album is an initiative in support of Tibet’s promotion of peace, basic human rights including freedom of expression and religion, and the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In addition, to show her support for Tibet, she played for Tibet House’s annual Carnegie Hall concert on February 26, 2010.
18. She performed a concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York City, New York to raise funds for the work of Médecins Sans Frontières in Haiti in March 2010.
19. In April 2010, Regina Spektor reported Radiohead’s song No Surprises. All proceeds from the song went to Médecins Sans Frontières to help earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile.
20. To raise money for Planned Parenthood New York City, she performed at the 3rd Annual Roe on the Rocks gig at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan on January 22, 2009.
21. Regina Spektor has also taken part in a series of memorial and benefit concerts for the family of Dan Cho, who was her cellist and died while touring with her in 2010.
22. In 2011 she won the New York Music Award for Best Female Rock Vocalist.
23. In February 2012, she performed a benefit concert for HIAS (a benefit agency of the UJA Federation of New York) at Rose Hall, New York City.
24. In addition to the studio albums, Regina Spektor has also released a number of EPs including Live at Bull Moose , Live in California 2006 EP , Laugh With , and iTunes Live from Soho and singles including Carbon Monoxide , On the Radio , Us , Faithfulness , Laugh With , Eastern European Time, Electronic Energy Transfer, Estimated Flight Duration , My Dear Friend (Happy New Year) , Samson , All the Rowboats , No Surprises , Don’t Leave Me Alone (Ne Me Quitte Pas), You have time , While my guitar cries softly , and Bleeding heart .
25. She practiced vegetarianism before touring with American rock band, The Strokes , who frequently dined on steak.
26. Instead of trying to create her own distinctive style, her main focus is that each of her songs has its own musical style.
27. In 2012 Regina Spektor was christened the official “Steinway Artist” and plays Steinway & Sons pianos.
28. She performed with hundreds of other guests at the White House for Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in honor of Jewish Heritage Month in May 2010. Her performance included the songs Us and The Sword and the Pen .
29. She also wrote and recorded the theme song, You’ve Got Time , for the Netflix Original comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black . The song was also nominated for Best Visual Media Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards and won the 2015 BMI Streaming Media Award.
30. Regina Spektor is fluent in Russian and can also read Hebrew.
31. Their songs are influenced by folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz and classical music.
32. She also finds inspiration in the works of The Beatles , Bob Dylan, Nirvana , Madonna, Eminem, Kate Bush, Rufus Wainwright, David Bowie, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Billie Holiday, Radiohead , Tom Waits and Frédéric Chopin.
33. During her live performances, Regina Spektor primarily played an Epiphone Wildkat archtop hollowbody electric guitar.
34. She holds American citizenship.
35. Regina Spektor has also appeared in several shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Late Night with Conan O’Brien , Revealing Women , Jimmy Kimmel Live! , Saturday Night Live , Late Show with David Letterman , Last Call with Carson Daly , and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon .
36. Visit their official website @ reginazar.com.
37. Follow Regina Spektor on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, MySpace, SoundCloud, iTunes and YouTube.